Deutsche Bank AG Acquires Shares of 401,562 Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 401,562 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,064,000. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.29% of Viasat at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VSAT. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,902,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Viasat during the second quarter worth $723,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Viasat during the second quarter worth $80,124,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat during the second quarter worth $1,085,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total value of $25,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,000. The trade was a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 671,861 shares of company stock worth $47,405,788. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on Viasat in a report on Monday, August 10th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price objective on Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $49.00 price objective on Viasat in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.67.

Viasat Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $74.72 on Friday. Viasat Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.10 and a fifty-two week high of $93.03. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of -311.33 and a beta of 1.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $74.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.64% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. Viasat’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc (NASDAQ: VSAT) provides high‐capacity satellite broadband and wireless communications services to consumer, commercial and government customers worldwide. The company designs and operates satellite systems and network infrastructure to deliver secure, high-speed connectivity across remote and underserved regions, as well as managed networking solutions for enterprises and public sector agencies.

Viasat’s product offerings include residential and enterprise satellite internet services, in-flight connectivity for commercial airlines and business jets, and secure networking platforms tailored to defense and intelligence users.